When designing mechanical parts, it is known to use computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) tools such as the computer aided design tool available from Parametric Technology Corp (PTC) under the trade designation Pro/ENGINEER. Other examples of CAD tools include the AUTOCAD, CADKEY, INTERGRAPH and ANVIL CAD tools. Computer aided design tools produce data files which contain multi-dimensional part information necessary for fabricating the mechanical part. The data files are often stored in the form of a database. After the mechanical part is designed, the data file representing the part is often transferred to another location, e.g., the location of a vendor, where the part is fabricated. It is desirable for the CAD tool to provide the data file in a format which is an easily accessible and readable file format; i.e., in a format which is accessible by different types of CAD and fabrication tools.
One common file format which provides the attributes of being easily accessible and readable is the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) format. Files conforming to the IGES format contain all of the multi-dimensional information necessary to fabricate the part. However, the IGES format does not contain easily accessible textual information such as part summary information. This part summary information may include the part number of the mechanical part, the revision level of the mechanical part and the date. The part summary information may also include the part volume.
Accordingly, a variety of other methods may be used in transferring the part summary information with the part data file. For example, the part summary information may be faxed to the vendor when the data file is sent by modem to the vendor, the part summary information may be sent by electronic mail which is attached to the data file, the part summary information may be written on a diskette on which the data file is stored, the part summary information may be shown on a drawing which accompanies the data file or the part summary information may be verbally communicated to the vendor. However, in each of these methods, because the part summary information is not attached to the data file, the part summary information may be easily separated from the data file. Additionally, a vendor may have several versions of data files for the same mechanical part, thus making it difficult to determine which is the latest version of the part.
The IGES file format includes a provision for providing a text header within the IGES data file. However, this provision requires that the IGES data file be opened as a text file to look at the text header. To access this information, the user must know that the text header including the part summary information is present. Additionally, when the IGES data file is accessed and converted to a file format which conforms to the CAD system of a vendor, the IGES text header is disconnected from the IGES data file and thus is not available to the vendor.